Dionysus
Dionysus is the God of Wine and Madness, brother of Laverna and father of the trolls. He is also the patron deity of the Clergy of Dionysus. He is quite the party animal who has a soft spot for children and tends to act in random ways. After the Battle of Malperdy, his essence has been residing in Zetsubou Kobayashi. Biography Early Years A younger god, Dionysus and his sister Laverna were close from an early age. They admired Mardük's free spirit and embraced Chaos in their own way. In Dionysus's case it manifested as madness due to his reckless behaviour with impromptu plans and foolhardy ideas. As the Land of the Living was populated by various races, some people ended up forming a cult around Dionysus and partying, and this cult eventually turned into the Clergy of Dionysus. Dionysus created the trolls and is seen as their patron deity. He was also responsible for the creation of the Goat Jewel and putting a curse on it just for giggles with no regard to what damage it might cause in the future among mortals. He and Laverna got involved in the affairs of the rogue kitsune Katsutoshi Kobayashi and Haruko Mizushima and helped them in their confrontation with Gilgamesh, Koschei Dravaris and Malakhia d'Zarnagon and preventing the power of the Dragon Diamond from falling into the wrong hands. However, both the gods and the kitsune were injured in the battle, and the gods chose to enter the bodies of the kitsune to regain their strength. The gods and their hosts retreated into crystals which would hide their bodies until they were healed and summoned back to the world again. As a result Dionysus and Laverna never got to see the beginning of the War of the Andain although Dionysus's madness would end up affecting several lives subtly over the following millennia. Godslayer Era Setting the Stage Dionysus was eventually released from his crystal prison along with Katsutoshi, and the two began scheming to help return Laverna and Haruko back to the world. While Dionysus retreated to the confines of Laverna's old worshipping place Malperdy and began gathering troll followers to do his bidding from the shadows, Katsutoshi familiarized himself with the world and began interacting with various thieves guilds in hopes of using their resources for Dionysus's gain. It was Katsutoshi who reintroduced the Finian Clan to Dionysus, especially Irvin Finian who dedicated himself to helping the pair. Eventually the schemes bore fruit when Haruko, who held Laverna's trapped essence within her, was released during the Day of the Damned in Reign with help from various willing and unsuspecting factions whom Katsutoshi had been manipulating. Because of an interruption to the ritual, Haruko was released amnesiac and Laverna couldn't leave her body willingly, thus making them both vulnerable. Although Dionysus sensed Laverna's release, he also sensed that other gods had become aware of her return, particularly Shakkan who had his own ideas in mind how to prevent Laverna from falling into the wrong hands while she was stuck inside Haruko, something Dionysus couldn't allow. Things got even more complicated when Haruko was whisked away to Hidefall, a hidden base of the Union Workers thieves guild, while Gilgamesh had also been awakened and was now after Haruko and Laverna to have his revenge. This necessiated Katsutoshi to take matters into his own hands and appear as Izanami-no-Mikoto to the thieves and their allies before stealing Haruko from them with Irvin's opening a portal to the Void which they used as a means of escape. However, this was all an elaborate setup to have the Fellowship of Hidefall follow him and Haruko to Malperdy where they would play their part in Laverna's true return to the world. Scheming in the Dark Dionysus, hiding in the body of a child to keep his true powers from being detected, was delighted when he met with Laverna's mortal vessel although he quickly noticed that Haruko was confused, scared and even angry at being kidnapped. He didn't seem to mind that much, though; instead, he looked forward to being reunited with Laverna and seemed to show less concern for Haruko. While the Fellowship of Hidefall was busy entering the trap-filled Malperdy and tracking down Katsutoshi in his many disguises, Dionysus met with another group of travellers who had entered the underground mausoleum and whom the trolls had spotted. The god spoke with them, particularly finding Razravkar Dominus, the elven necromancer in the group, amusing and telling him that he too would play his part in this little game they were playing. Eventually both the group Razravkar was in and the Fellowship of Hidefall met with the rest of the players of the 'game', who included Gilgamesh and demon infiltrators from the Eastern Horde, in Fox's Den, or the treasure chamber, at the centre of Malperdy. Events quickly escalated into a battle as each group decided to act for various reasons and faced trolls and Haruko's kidnappers. Razravkar used this unleashed chaos to his advantage to kill Haruko and thus, in his view, also kill Laverna whom he didn't trust to have any good will for the world or the races living in it. However, as his spell hit Haruko, it turned out this act had been one of the last parts needed for Laverna's resurrection ritual, and Haruko turned into a monstrous kitsune form before giving birth to twins, one of whom contained Laverna who was now freed from her earthly prison. Dionysus was injured in battle when he used his mortal vessel to protect Haruko from Shakkan's acolytes, the barbarian Svyatogor and his chimera companion, who had entered the maze to kill Haruko for their god. As a result of his sacrifice Dionysus was forced to transfer his essence into one of Haruko's twins. While the god was busy, one of the adventurers, Janus Todd, took matters into his own hands and had Gilgamesh and the elven ranger Geras Sylevar betray their companions and take the two kitsune infants, as well as the demons' elven necromancer ally Persephone Barca, with them before they fled through the portal. Katsutoshi and Haruko, as well the other survivors from the battle, were caught by the Crimson Coalition's agents soon after as the maze collapsed around them. Preparing for Endgame After their successful escape from Malperdy, Janus's party met with some of their co-conspirators in Alent where they rested for a while before they were teleported to Shipwreck Cove so that the endgame of their plan could begin. Due to sudden attack from the Eastern Horde's demon infiltrators in the King and Queen's Ball and a manhunt of necromancers which had begun due to Razravkar's rogue actions in the city, Janus was caught by the Anti Mage Police who recognized him practicing necromancy against demons and couldn't join the rest of the party in the journey. While bored and stuck in the body of one of the kitsune cubs, Dionysus's magic was unleashed and led a rather disturbing yet hilarious teleportation incident around Trinity Gask and Survivor's Woods. This in part would lead to the Battle of Survivor's Woods when the nymphs who had been teleported away caused havoc among humans while fleeing to the forest. The rest of the conspirators' party gathered in an abandoned Temple of Gaea in the Cove and began plotting their next move. Dionysus and Laverna seemed content being essentially the conspirators' prisoners and let them believe they now had their power within their grasp. However, Dionysus and Laverna were playing their own game of deception, using the mortal conspirators for their own ends while letting them believe they were in control. When the time came for the conspirators to leave the Cove aboard the Morning Star whose captain Decanus Tafford was convinced to aid them, Dionysus and Laverna followed along in their mortal host bodies. The gods chose to remain dormant during the voyage, even when a sea serpent attacked the Morning Star and the other two ships the Moldy Crow and the Seastrider. Aliases and Nicknames ; God of Wine and Madness : His title. ; Hogfather : Don't ask. Just...don't. Appearance Whenever he manifests in godflesh, he has long and wavy golden hair, golden skin and mischievous glowing eyes. He is dressed rather casually. Personality and Traits Mischievous, playful, crazy, cunning. One can never be quite sure what he's thinking of, which makes him a wild card in the Pantheon. Despite his jovial nature, he's more than willing to leave allies to their deaths and abandon them at a whim if it means getting him closer to winning the 'game'. Powers and Abilities He's a god albeit a younger one so his powers are considerable. He's capable of twisting people's perception of time and place. Relationships Haruko Mizushima Irvin Finian Katsutoshi Kobayashi Laverna See also *Clergy of Dionysus *Goat Jewel *God *Haruko Mizushima *Irvin Finian *Katsutoshi Kobayashi Category:Characters Category:Clergy of Dionysus Category:First Age Category:Gods Category:High Plane Category:Third Age